Germantown, MD – The Maryland Board of Physicians has confirmed in a letter to Operation Rescue that it is conducting a preliminary investigation of late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart for his treatment of Jennifer Morbelli, who died from complications to a 33-week abortion February 7, 2013.

The letter, dated March 1, 2013, was addressed to Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor for Operation Rescue who filed a formal complaint against Carhart to ensure that he was properly investigated since other agencies looking into the Morbelli death had no direct jurisdiction over Carhart’s medical license.

“The Board will conduct a preliminary investigation into the allegations. This will include requesting a response from the health care practitioner, and/or obtaining medical records and any other material pertinent to the investigation. There are no witness interviews obtained during the preliminary investigation,” the letter stated.

The letter went on to indicate that the preliminary investigation could take six months or longer to complete.

“We appreciate that the Board is conducting a preliminary investigation of Carhart, but we remain concerned that he continues to conduct dangerous late-term abortions in Germantown at an outpatient clinic that lacks immediate access to emergency facilities or any kind of arrangement with a hospital to ensure continuity of care in the event of a medical emergency,” said Sullenger. “Given the tragic result of Mrs. Morbelli’s late-term abortion, we continue to urge the Board to suspend Carhart’s medical license until their investigation can be completed to ensure the safety of the public.”

Sullenger alleges that Carhart showed negligence and unprofessional conduct when he abandoned his patient by leaving the state and not answering calls for help. Just hours after the abortion, Morbelli began to suffer shortness of breath and other symptoms of distress. Efforts made by the family and later the hospital to contact Carhart failed, causing a delay in emergency care.

Concerns have also been raised about the safety of the late-term abortion process itself since the surgical abortion process takes several days and requires patients to stay overnight in hotels without access to monitoring or emergency care even while experiencing active labor.

A previous complaint filed by Sullenger against Carhart resulted in a letter of admonishment being placed in his file by the MDBP after her allegations that he lied on his Maryland medical license application were found to have merit.

Sullenger was also a complainant in the disciplinary case against a Kansas associate of Carhart’s, Ann Kristin Neuhaus, that resulted in the revocation of Neuhaus’ Kansas medical license last year after it was determined that she regularly provided Carhart and others with illegitimate late-term abortion referrals based on phony mental health excuses.